Frame assembly capable of self-stretching fabrics evenly

ABSTRACT

A frame assembly capable of self-stretching fabric evenly has an outer frame, a demountable inner frame mounted in the outer frame and a positioning mechanism with retaining flaps and engaging sections disposed between the inner frame and the outer frame. A patterned fabric covers a front of the inner frame and is wrapped on an outer annular surface of the inner frame. The inner frame is then pushed into the outer frame, so the fabric is held between the outer frame and the inner frame, and is stretched and evenly smoothed by the positioning mechanism of the frame assembly. When the inner frame is pushed out of outer frame, the fabric can be changed and replaced with another fabric with a different pattern. Therefore, replacing the fabrics on the frame assembly is easy and the fabrics are not damaged.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a frame assembly capable of self-stretching fabrics evenly during framing process, especially to a frame assembly that allows users to replace a fabric such as a canvas or patterned cloth easily.

2. Description of the Prior Art(s)

People beautify the environment and create comfortable atmospheres by decorating a wall with pictures, calligraphy, or beautiful fabrics.

A conventional way to display a fabric that is embroidered, woven, painted or printed with beautiful patterns is to wrap the fabric around a wooden frame. The fabric is then hand-stretched and fastened to the wooden frame with staples, glue, or nails. Then, a picture frame may be added on top of the cloth if needed.

However, if people frame the fabric by themselves, they need to prepare tools and supplies. Therefore, most people are unable to frame the cloth by themselves and need help from a professional. Once framed, the staples, the glue, or the nails that fasten the cloth to the wooden frame damage the fabric and the frame. Hence, the damaged fabric and frame cannot be reused, and since the fabric is firmly mounted on the wooden frame, it is difficult to replace the fabric with another piece of fabric. As seasons, holidays, or a person's moods change, interior decorations of a house are supposed to change accordingly. However, changing the framed fabric under the conventional way is not practical, and people shy away from changing their wall decoration often. To overcome these shortcomings, the present invention provides a frame assembly capable of self-stretching fabrics evenly to avoid or eliminate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a frame assembly capable of self-stretching fabrics evenly. The frame assembly has an outer frame, a demountable inner frame, and a positioning mechanism with retaining flaps and engaging sections disposed between the inner frame and the outer frame. The demountable inner frame is mounted in the outer frame. A fabric covers a front of the inner frame and a peripheral area of the fabric is bent to wrap an outer annular surface of the inner frame. Then the inner frame is pushed into the outer frame, so the peripheral area of the fabric is held between the resilient retaining flaps of the outer frame and the engaging sections of the inner frame. As a result, the fabric is stretched and evenly smoothed by the frame assembly. When the inner frame is pushed out of the outer frame, the cloth wrapped on the inner frame can be changed and replaced with another piece of fabric. The present invention allows users to easily replace the fabric without damaging the fabrics.

Together with the accompany drawings and the following detailed descriptions, other objections, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a frame assembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the frame assembly in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view in partial section of the frame assembly in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the frame assembly in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial exploded perspective view of the frame assembly in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial side view in partial section of another embodiment of a frame assembly in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a frame assembly capable of self-stretching fabric evenly in accordance with the present invention comprises an outer frame 10, a demountable inner frame 20 a positioning mechanism, and a backing panel 30.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the outer frame 10 is annular and has multiple outer frame strips 11 and multiple outer frame fastening brackets 12.

The outer frame strips 11 are annularly arranged. Each outer frame strip 11 has an inner surface 111 and a decorating panel 115. The inner surface 111 of the outer frame strip 11 has a rear edge and a front edge. The inner surfaces 111 of the outer frame strips 11 form an inner annular surface of the outer frame 10. The rear edges of the outer frame strips 11 form a rear annular edge of the outer frame 10. The front edges of the outer frame strips 11 form a front annular edge of the outer frame 10. The decorating panel 115 is formed on and protrudes from the inner surface 111 of the outer frame strip 11, and is disposed along the front edge of the inner surface of the outer frame strip 11.

With further reference to FIG. 5, the outer frame fastening brackets 12 respectively connect the outer frame strips 11. Each outer frame fastening bracket 12 connects two of the outer frame strips 11 that are arranged adjacent to each other and has a connector 121 and multiple fasteners 122. The connector 121 of the outer frame fastening bracket 12 may be a corner brace and is mounted on rear surfaces of the outer frame strips 11. The fasteners 122 of the outer frame fastening bracket 12, which may be screws, are separately mounted through the connector 121 of the outer frame fastening bracket 12 and are securely attached to the outer frame strips 11. Thus, the outer frame strips 11 are assembled to become an annular frame.

The demountable inner frame 20 is annular, is mounted and held in the outer frame 10, and has multiple inner frame strips 21 and multiple inner frame fastening brackets 22.

The inner frame strips 21 are annularly arranged. Each inner frame strip 21 has an inner surface 211, an outer surface 212 and a mounting groove 213. The inner surfaces 211 of the inner frame strips 21 form an inner annular surface of the inner frame 20. The outer surfaces 212 of the inner frame strip 21 form an outer annular surface of the inner frame 20. The mounting groove 213 is formed in the inner surface 211 of the inner frame strip 21, extends axially along the inner frame strip 21 and communicates with the mounting grooves 213 of the other inner frame strips 21 that are arranged adjacent to the inner frame strip 21. The mounting grooves 213 of the inner frame strips 21 form an inner annular groove of the inner frame 20.

The inner frame fastening brackets 22 connect the inner frame strips 21 respectively. Each inner frame fastening bracket 22 has a connector 221 and multiple fasteners 222, and connects two of the inner frame strips 21 that are adjacently arranged to each other and. The connector 221 of the inner frame fastening bracket 22 may be a corner brace and is mounted on the rear surfaces of the inner frame strips 21. The fasteners 222 of the inner frame fastening bracket 22, which may be screws, are separately mounted through the connector 221 of the inner frame fastening bracket 22 and are securely attached to the inner frame strips 21. Thus, the inner frame strips 21 are assembled to become an annular frame.

With further reference to FIG. 4, the positioning mechanism has multiple resilient retaining flaps 112 and multiple engaging sections 214. The retaining flaps 112 and the engaging sections 214 are respectively formed on the inner annular surface of the outer frame 10 and the outer annular surface of the inner frame 20. Each retaining flap 112 is arced in cross-section and has an outer surface, two ends and a gripping portion 113. The gripping portion 113 is rough and is formed on the outer surface of the retaining flap 112. Each engaging section 214 is rough, and presses against and engages a corresponding gripping portion 113 when the inner frame 20 is mounted in the outer frame 10.

In the preferred embodiment, the retaining flaps 112 are formed on the inner annular surface of the outer frame 10 and are respectively formed on the inner surfaces 111 of the outer frame strips 11. Each retaining flap 112 protrudes from the rear annular edge of the inner annular surface of the outer frame 10 toward the front annular edge of the inner annular surface of the outer frame 10 and protrudes from the rear edge of the inner surface of the outer frame strip 11 toward the front edge of the inner surface of the outer frame strip 11. The engaging sections 214 are formed on the outer annular surface of the inner frame 20 and are respectively formed on the outer surfaces 212 of the inner frame strips 21.

Preferably, the outer frame strips 11 and the retaining flaps 112 are made of plastic. Thus, the retaining flaps 112 are resilient.

Preferably, each gripping portion 113 has multiple engagement teeth extending axially along the outer frame strip 11. Each engaging section 214 has multiple engagement teeth extending axially along the inner frame strip 21.

Otherwise, the retaining flaps 112 may be formed on the outer annular surface of the inner frame 20 and may be respectively formed on the outer surfaces 212 of the inner frame strips 21. The engaging sections 214 may be formed on the inner annular surface of the outer frame 10 and may be respectively formed on the inner surfaces 111 of the outer frame strips 11.

Otherwise, the gripping portions 113 and the engaging sections 214 may be grained, so the gripping portions 113 of the retaining flaps 112 engage the engaging section 214.

The backing panel 30 is mounted between the inner frame strips 21 of the inner frame 20 and has an outer peripheral edge mounted in the mounting grooves 213 of the inner frame strips 21 of the inner frame 20.

A fabric 40 with patterns covers fronts of the inner frame 20 and the backing panel 30. The backing panel 30 prevents the fabric 40 from being pushed back and structurally supports both the inner frame 20 and the decorating panels 115 of the outer frame 10 when the inner frame 20 and the outer frame 10 are engaged together. A peripheral area of the fabric 40 is folded to wrap the outer annular surface of the inner frame 20. Then the inner frame 20 that is wrapped with the fabric 40 is pushed into the outer frame 10, so the peripheral area of the fabric 40 is held between the retaining flaps 112 and the outer annular surface of the inner frame 20. Thus, the gripping portion 113 of the retaining flaps 112 engage the engaging section 214, and the outer frame 10, the inner frame 20 and the fabric 40 are held in specific positions relative to each other.

When the inner frame 20 is pushed into the outer frame 10, the positioning mechanism placed between the inner frame 20 and the outer frame 10 stretches and smoothes the fabric 40 evenly to perfectly display the pattern on the fabric 40.

When the inner frame 20 and the backing panel 30 are pushed out of the outer frame 10, the fabric 40 wrapped on the inner frame 20 can be changed and replaced with another fabric 40 with a different pattern. This allows the replacement of patterns on the frame assembly easy and the fabric 40 is not damaged.

With reference to FIG. 6, in another preferred embodiment, the decorating panels of the outer frame strips 11A of the outer frame 10A and the backing panel that is mounted in the mounting grooves 213A of the inner frame strips 21A of the inner frame 20A are omitted. As long as the retaining flaps 112A of the outer frame 10A and the engaging sections 214A of the inner frame 20A are sufficient to hold and stretch tight the fabric in position, and no dent would form on a center of the fabric, the decorating panels and the backing panel may be omitted. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A frame assembly comprising: an outer frame being annular and having an inner annular surface; a demountable inner frame being annular, mounted in the outer frame and having an outer annular surface; and a positioning mechanism having multiple resilient retaining flaps and multiple engaging sections, the retaining flaps and the engaging sections formed on the inner annular surface of the outer frame and the outer annular surface of the inner frame respectively, and each engaging section pressing against and engaging a corresponding retaining flap when the inner frame is mounted in the outer frame.
 2. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each retaining flap is arced in cross-section and has a rough gripping portion formed on an outer surface of the retaining flap; and each engaging section of the inner frame is rough.
 3. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein each gripping portion has multiple engagement teeth; and each engaging section has multiple engagement teeth.
 4. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the inner annular surface of the outer frame has a rear annular edge and a front annular edge; the retaining flaps are formed on the inner annular surface of the outer frame, and each retaining flap protrudes from the rear annular edge of the inner annular surface of the outer frame toward the front annular edge of the inner annular surface of the outer frame; the engaging sections are formed on the outer annular surface of the inner frame.
 5. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer frame further has: multiple outer frame strips annularly arranged, each outer frame strip having an inner surface, and the inner surfaces of the outer frame strips forming the inner annular surface of the outer frame; and multiple outer frame fastening brackets respectively connecting the outer frame strips, each outer frame fastening bracket connecting two of the outer frame strips that are arranged adjacent to each other; the retaining flaps are respectively formed on the inner surfaces of the outer frame strips; the inner frame further has: multiple inner frame strips annularly arranged, each inner frame strip having an outer surface forming an outer annular surface of the inner frame; and multiple inner frame fastening brackets respectively connecting the inner frame strips, each inner frame fastening bracket connecting two of the inner frame strips that are arranged adjacent to each other; and the engaging sections are respectively formed on the outer surfaces of the inner frame strips.
 6. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the outer frame further has: multiple outer frame strips annularly arranged, each outer frame strip having an inner surface, and the inner surfaces of the outer frame strips forming the inner annular surface of the outer frame; and multiple outer frame fastening brackets respectively connecting the outer frame strips, each outer frame fastening bracket connecting two of the outer frame strips that are arranged adjacent to each other; the retaining flaps are respectively formed on the inner surfaces of the outer frame strips; the inner frame further has: multiple inner frame strips annularly arranged, each inner frame strip having an outer surface forming the outer annular surface of the inner frame; and multiple inner frame fastening brackets respectively connecting the inner frame strips, each inner frame fastening bracket connecting two of the inner frame strips that are arranged adjacent to each other; and the engaging sections are respectively formed on the outer surfaces of the inner frame strips.
 7. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the outer frame further has: multiple outer frame strips annularly arranged, each outer frame strip having an inner surface, and the inner surfaces of the outer frame strips forming the inner annular surface of the outer frame; and multiple outer frame fastening brackets respectively connecting the outer frame strips, each outer frame fastening bracket connecting two of the outer frame strips that are arranged adjacent to each other; the retaining flaps are respectively formed on the inner surfaces of the outer frame strips; the inner frame further has: multiple inner frame strips annularly arranged, each inner frame strip having an outer surface forming the outer annular surface of the inner frame; and multiple inner frame fastening brackets respectively connecting the inner frame strips, each inner frame fastening bracket connecting two of the inner frame strips that are arranged adjacent to each other; and the engaging sections are respectively formed on the outer surfaces of the inner frame strips.
 8. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the outer frame further has: multiple outer frame strips annularly arranged, each outer frame strip having an inner surface, and the inner surfaces of the outer frame strips forming the inner annular surface of the outer frame; and multiple outer frame fastening brackets respectively connecting the outer frame strips, each outer frame fastening bracket connecting two of the outer frame strips that are arranged adjacent to each other; the retaining flaps are respectively formed on the inner surfaces of the outer frame strips; the inner frame further has: multiple inner frame strips annularly arranged, each inner frame strip having an outer surface forming the outer annular surface of the inner frame; and multiple inner frame fastening brackets respectively connecting the inner frame strips, each inner frame fastening bracket connecting two of the inner frame strips that are arranged adjacent to each other; and the engaging sections are respectively formed on the outer surfaces of the inner frame strips.
 9. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein each inner frame strip of the inner frame further has an inner surface and a mounting groove formed in the inner surface of the inner frame strip, extending axially along the inner frame strip and communicating with the mounting grooves of the other inner frame strips that are arranged adjacent to the inner frame strip.
 10. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein each inner frame strip of the inner frame further has an inner surface and a mounting groove formed in the inner surface of the inner frame strip, extending axially along the inner frame strip and communicating with the mounting grooves of the other inner frame strips that are arranged adjacent to the inner frame strip.
 11. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 9 further comprising a backing panel mounted between the inner frame strips of the inner frame and having an outer peripheral edge mounted in the mounting grooves of the inner frame strips of the inner frame.
 12. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 10 further comprising a backing panel mounted between the inner frame strips of the inner frame and having an outer peripheral edge mounted in the mounting grooves of the inner frame strips of the inner frame.
 13. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the inner surface of each outer frame strip has a front edge; and each outer frame strip of the outer frame further has a decorating panel formed on and protruding from the inner surface of the outer frame strip, and disposed along the front edge of the inner surface of the outer frame strip.
 14. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein the inner surface of each outer frame strip has a front edge; and each outer frame strip of the outer frame further has a decorating panel formed on and protruding from the inner surface of the outer frame strip, and disposed along the front edge of the inner surface of the outer frame strip.
 15. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 14, wherein each outer frame fastening bracket of the outer frame has: a connector mounted on rear surfaces of the outer frame strips; and multiple fasteners separately mounted through the connector of the outer frame fastening bracket and securely attached to the outer frame strips; and each inner frame fastening bracket of the outer frame has: a connector mounted on rear surfaces of the inner frame strips; and multiple fasteners separately mounted through the connector of the inner frame fastening bracket and securely attached to the inner frame strips.
 16. The frame assembly as claimed in claim 15, wherein the connectors of the outer frame fastening brackets and the inner frame fastening brackets are corner braces; the fasteners of the outer frame fastening brackets and the inner frame fastening brackets are screws. 